Jane Braswell, “All Men — and Women– are created equal”

In our class discussion the other day, one topic that I found interesting was that of equality and freedom, and their relationship towards one another. This happens to be the same discussion I hope to continue with this post.

This article was written, by Raw Story writer David Edwards, relaying a live Fox News report on the movement demanding equal pay for women in the workplace. The controversy was debated between female Fox News anchor, Martha MacCallum, colleague Tucker Carlson, and liberal radio host, Alan Colmes. The article begins with a quote by MacCallum, in which she defends her stance that women are in fact begin paid fairly by saying that women are paid, “exactly what they are worth.”

The debate continues with Carlson’s argument that women actually make more than men if you account for time “voluntarily” taken off to raise children. MacCallum supports this with her opinion that politicians need to stop treating women as victims “who we need to make sure she gets what she deserves.”

Colmes disagrees and states that you can’t say there is not a war on women when “they’re not making as much as men for the same jobs.” He furthers his argument by addressing Calrson’s use of “voluntary” and making the point that sickness, pregnancy leave, and situations in which women are forced out of the workplace when they have to leave are not necessarily “voluntary” circumstances.

MacCallum justifies her side once again by saying that most women don’t want special treatment, referring to them as a “special class” and suggesting that by getting equal pay they’d be given a “special handout,” confirming her earlier statement that women are already being paid, “exactly what they are worth.”

Personally, I don’t see how individuals can believe that we as a nation are staying true to the concept of “all mean are created equal” and support injustices and inequalities like non-equal pay for women in the workplace. Unless of course they are naive enough to not have realized that at this point in the development of our society a “Man” is not one of the male physique, but a human, deserving of every opportunity as the rest. Freedom and equality are not necessarily one in the same, but I believe that there is no way one can truly be free without equal rights.